South Australian English is the variety of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

spoken in the

Australian state The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. As with the other regional varieties within

Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language. While Australia has no of ...

, these have distinctive

vocabularies ''Vocabularies'' (stylized as ''VOCAbuLarieS'') is the ninth studio album by American jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin that was recorded with composer Roger Treece and released on April 6, 2010 by EmArcy in the United States. Described on McFerrin's ...

. To a lesser degree, there are also some differences in

phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...

(

pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. To This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or all language in a specific dialect—"correct" or "standard" pronunciation—or si ...

). There is also significant influence from minority groups within the state, such as the ethnic German community, a sizeable amount of which speak

Barossa German Barossa German ( or ) is a dialect of German language, German, predominantly spoken in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia. The prominent South Australian writer, Colin Thiele (1920–2006), whose grandparents were German people, Germ ...

. There are four localised, regional varieties of English in South Australia: ''

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

English'', ''Eyre and Yorke Peninsula English'', ''South East South Australia English'' and ''Northern South Australia English''. While there are many commonalities, each has its own variations in vocabulary.

Vocabulary

Wheal Watkins mine - heritage listing plaque 2016

While some of the words attributed to South Australians are used elsewhere in Australia, many genuine regional words are used throughout the state. Some of these are

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

in origin, reflecting the origins of many early

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s. Such was the concentration of German speakers in and around the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major list of wine-producing regions, wine-producin ...

, it has been suggested they spoke their own dialect of German, known as "

". The influence of South Australia's German heritage is evidenced by the adoption into the dialect of certain German or German-influenced vocabulary. One such local word with German origins is "butcher", the name given to a beer glass, which is believed to be derived from the German ''Becher'', meaning a cup or mug. "Butcher" is more commonly attributed to publicans around Adelaide who kept these smaller glasses for abattoir workers coming in straight from work for a drink before heading home. Processed

luncheon meat Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in ...

is known as "fritz" in South Australia, whereas in other states it is referred to as

devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, stras or polony. Another uniquely South Australian word is "

Stobie pole A Stobie pole is a Utility pole, power line pole made of two steel I-beams, joined by tie-bolts, and held apart by a slab of concrete. It was invented by Adelaide Electric Supply Company engineer James Cyril Stobie, who suggested the use of ...

", which is the pole used to support power and telephone lines. It was invented in South Australia by James Stobie in 1924. Cornish

miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

represented another significant wave of early immigrants, and they contributed

Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh language, Welsh and Breton language, Breton, Cornish descends from Common Brittonic, ...

words, such as ''wheal'' (from Cornish ''hwel'', "

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun M ...

"), which is preserved in many place names. South Australian dialects also preserve other British English usages which do not occur elsewhere in Australia: for example, farmers use ''reap'' and ''reaping'', as well as "harvest" and "harvesting".

Phonology

split

In Australian English, pronunciations vary regionally according to the type of vowel that occurs before the sounds nd, ns, nt, nce, nch, and mple, and the pronunciation of the suffix "-mand". In words like "chance", "plant", "branch", "sample" and "demand", the vast majority of Australians use the flat vowel. In South Australia, however, there is a high proportion of people who use the broad vowel in words. For example, a 1995 survey of pronunciation in different cities found that 86% of those surveyed in Adelaide pronounced graph with an , whereas 100% of those surveyed in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

and 70% of those surveyed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

used . Because of the prevalence of the South Australian broad A, the South Australian accent appears to be closer to Cultivated Australian English than other state dialects.

L-vocalisation

The tendency for some sounds to become vowels ( vocalisation) is more common in South Australia than other states. "Hurled", for example, in South Australia has a semi vocalised , leading to the pronunciation əːʊ̯d whereas in other states the is pronounced as a consonant. The "l" is semi vocalised; for example, "milk" is pronounced as ɪʊ̯kand "hill" is pronounced as ɪʊ̯Dorothy Jauncey, ''Bardi Grubs and Frog Cakes — South Australian Words'', Oxford University Press (2004)

References

External links